U.S. patent application number 12/350923 was filed with the patent office on 2010-05-13 for method and apparatus for displaying icon of multimedia file, and recording medium thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to HTC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Chia-Fu Yen.
Application Number | 20100122217 12/350923 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42166331 |
Filed Date | 2010-05-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100122217 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yen; Chia-Fu |
May 13, 2010 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING ICON OF MULTIMEDIA FILE, AND
RECORDING MEDIUM THEREOF
Abstract
A method and an apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia
file on a user interface, and a recording medium thereof are
provided. In the present method, a file quality grade of the
multimedia file is obtained first. A resolution of the icon of the
multimedia file is subsequently adjusted according to the file
quality grade and the adjusted icon is displayed on the user
interface. As a result, the user can quickly determine the quality
of the multimedia file by determining whether the icon is clear or
not, thereby more conveniently opening the multimedia file that
meets the file quality requirement.
Inventors: |
Yen; Chia-Fu; (Taoyuan
County, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JIANQ CHYUN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
7 FLOOR-1, NO. 100, ROOSEVELT ROAD, SECTION 2
TAIPEI
100
TW
|
Assignee: |
HTC CORPORATION
Taoyuan County
TW
|
Family ID: |
42166331 |
Appl. No.: |
12/350923 |
Filed: |
January 8, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/846 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/44 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/846 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/048 20060101
G06F003/048 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 7, 2008 |
TW |
97143125 |
Claims
1. A method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file on a user
interface, the method comprising: determining a file quality grade
of the multimedia file; and adjusting and displaying the icon
according to the file quality grade.
2. The method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file according
to claim 1, wherein before the step of determining the file quality
grade of the multimedia file, the method further comprises:
providing a file; determining whether the file is the multimedia
file; directly displaying the icon of the file if the file is not
the multimedia file; and analyzing the file to initiate determining
of the file quality grade if the file is the multimedia file.
3. The method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file according
to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the file quality grade
of the multimedia file comprises: identifying a multimedia file
type of the multimedia file; obtaining a file information relative
to the multimedia file type; and comparing the file information to
at least one grade classification threshold to determine the file
quality grade corresponding to the file information.
4. The method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file according
to claim 3, wherein the step of adjusting and displaying the icon
according to the file quality grade comprises: adjusting a
resolution of the icon according to the file quality grade; and
displaying the adjusted icon on the user interface.
5. The method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file according
to claim 3, wherein the multimedia file type comprises one of an
audio file, a video file and an image file.
6. The method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file according
to claim 3, wherein the file information comprises one of a bitrate
and a pixel.
7. An apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file,
comprising: a display for presenting a user interface; and a
processor coupled to the display, the processor comprising: a
quality grade classification module for determining a file quality
grade of the multimedia file; and an icon displaying module coupled
to the quality grade classification module for adjusting the icon
of the multimedia file and displaying the icon on the user
interface.
8. The apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file
according to claim 7, wherein the processor further comprises a
multimedia file identification module coupled to the quality grade
classification module and the icon displaying module for
determining whether the file is the multimedia file, when the
multimedia file identification module determines the file is not
the multimedia file, the icon displaying module directly displays
the icon corresponding to the file, when the multimedia file
identification module determines the file is the multimedia file,
the quality grade classification module analyzes the file to
initiate determining of the file quality grade.
9. The apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file
according to claim 7, wherein the quality grade classification
module identifies a multimedia file type of the multimedia file,
obtains a file information relative to the multimedia file type,
and compares the file information to at least one quality grade
threshold to determine the file quality grade corresponding to the
file information.
10. The apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file
according to claim 9, wherein the icon displaying module adjusts a
resolution of the icon according to the file quality grade and
displays the adjusted icon on the user interface.
11. The apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file
according to claim 9, wherein the multimedia file type comprises
one of an audio file, a video file and an image file.
12. The apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file
according to claim 9, wherein the file information comprises one of
a bitrate and a pixel.
13. A storage medium for storing a computer program, the computer
program comprising a plurality of program codes to be loaded to an
electronic device to enable the electronic device to execute a
method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file, the method
comprising: determining a file quality grade of the multimedia
file; and adjusting and displaying the icon on a user interface
according to the file quality grade.
14. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein before the
step of determining the file quality grade of the multimedia file,
the method further comprises: providing a file; determining whether
the file is the multimedia file; directly displaying the icon of
the file if the file is not the multimedia file; and analyzing the
file to initiate determining of the file quality grade if the file
is the multimedia file.
15. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the step of
determining the file quality grade of the multimedia file
comprises: identifying a multimedia file type of the multimedia
file; obtaining a file information relative to the multimedia file
type; and comparing the file information to at least one grade
classification threshold to determine the file quality grade
corresponding to the file information.
16. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the step of
adjusting and displaying the icon according to the file quality
grade comprises: adjusting a resolution of the icon according to
the file quality grade; and displaying the adjusted icon on the
user interface.
17. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the
multimedia file type comprises one of an audio file, a video file
and an image file.
18. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the file
information comprises one of a bitrate and a pixel.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan
application serial no., 97143125 filed Nov. 7, 2008. The entirety
of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by
reference herein and made a part of specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a method for
displaying an icon of a file, and more particularly, to a method
and an apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file, and a
recording medium thereof.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] In general, when operating a computer with a Windows
operating system installed therein, users can view sub-file folders
and files of individual file folders through a file folder window.
Taking the Windows operating system developed by Microsoft company
as an example, to meet users' various needs, it provides various
manners of displaying files, such as, thumbnails, tiles, icons,
list and detail. Each manner of displaying the files has its own
advantages and can provide different file information. For example,
the icons displaying manner is a manner in which the representative
icon of each file is displayed on the file folder window to
facilitate the user identifying a type of the file from the icon.
The detail displaying manner is a manner in which file names and
icons as well as information such as file sizes and modified dates
are displayed for users' reference.
[0006] However, no matter which of the above manners is used, the
user can only identify the file type through different icons. For
files of the same type, their icons displayed on the file folder
window are the same and the users cannot obtain information other
than the file type directly from the icons. For example, the icons
of audio files will not be differentiated by an audio quality of
the audio files. Therefore, when the user wishes to choose those
files having a better audio quality from a large number of audio
files to play, the user needs to switch the file displaying manner
to the list displaying manner and determine the audio quality from
the file size. The files chosen in this manner does not necessarily
meet the audio quality needs. It can also be inconvenient for the
user to use the files because the file quality cannot be quickly
and intuitively determined.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method
for displaying an icon of a multimedia file which allows the user
to determine the file quality grade of the multimedia file from its
icon.
[0008] The present invention is also directed to an apparatus for
displaying an icon of a multimedia file which displays the icon
according to the file quality of the multimedia file such that the
user can quickly choose multimedia files that meet the file quality
requirement from a large number of multimedia files.
[0009] The present invention provides a method for displaying an
icon of a multimedia file on a user interface. In this method, a
file quality grade of the multimedia file is firstly determined.
The icon of the multimedia file is adjusted according to the file
quality grade and the adjusted icon is displayed on the user
interface.
[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention,
wherein before the step of determining the file quality grade of
the multimedia file, the method further includes providing a file
and determining whether the file is the multimedia file. The icon
of the file is directly displayed if the file is not the multimedia
file. The file is analyzed to initiate determining of the file
quality grade if the file is the multimedia file.
[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention,
determining the file quality grade of the multimedia file includes
identifying a multimedia file type of the multimedia file,
obtaining a file information relative to the multimedia file type;
and comparing the file information to at least one quality
classification threshold to determine the file quality grade
corresponding to the file information.
[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention,
adjusting and displaying the icon according to the file quality
grade includes adjusting a resolution of the icon according to the
file quality grade and displaying the adjusted icon on the user
interface.
[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
multimedia file type includes an audio file, a video file or an
image file. The file information includes a bitrate or a pixel.
[0014] In another aspect, the present invention provides an
apparatus for displaying an icon of a multimedia file. The
displaying apparatus includes a display and a processor. The
processor includes a quality grade classification module and an
icon displaying module. The display is used to present a user
interface. The quality grade classification module is used to
determine a file quality grade of the multimedia file. The icon
displaying module is coupled to the quality grade classification
module to adjust the icon of the multimedia file and display the
icon on the user interface.
[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
processor further includes a multimedia file identification module
coupled to the quality grade classification module and the icon
displaying module to determine whether the file is a multimedia
file. When the multimedia file identification module determines the
file is not a multimedia file, the icon displaying module directly
displays the icon corresponding to the file. When the multimedia
file identification module determines the file is a multimedia
file, the quality grade classification module analyzes the file to
initiate determining of the file quality grade.
[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
quality grade classification module identifies a multimedia file
type of the multimedia file, obtains a file information relative to
the multimedia file type, and compares the file information to at
least one quality grade threshold to determine the file quality
grade corresponding to the file information.
[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
icon displaying module adjusts a resolution of the icon according
to the file quality grade and displays the adjusted icon on the
user interface.
[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
multimedia file type includes an audio file, a video file or an
image file, and the file information includes a bitrate or a
pixel.
[0019] In another aspect, the present invention provides a storage
medium for storing a computer program. The computer program
includes a plurality of program codes that can be loaded to an
electronic device to enable the electronic device to execute the
method for displaying an icon of a multimedia file as described
above.
[0020] Embodiments of the present invention first obtain the file
information of the multimedia file and determine the file quality
grade corresponding to the file information, and then adjust and
display the icon correspondingly. As such, the user can determine
the file quality grade of each multimedia file directly from its
icon, thereby quickly choosing or opening the multimedia file that
meets the file quality requirement.
[0021] In order to make the aforementioned and other features and
advantages of the present invention more comprehensible,
embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for displaying an
icon of a multimedia file according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for displaying an icon of
a multimedia file according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for displaying an icon of
a multimedia file according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be
described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in
different forms and should not be constructed as limited to the
exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary
embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough
and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present
invention to those skilled in the art.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for displaying an
icon of a multimedia file according to one embodiment of the
present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment,
the displaying apparatus 100 for the multimedia file icon can be
incorporated into any electronic device capable of storing and
playing multimedia files, such as, a personal computer, a notebook
computer, a smartphone, or a personal digital assistant. Thus, the
displaying apparatus is not limited to be used in a particular
electronic device.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the displaying apparatus 100 for the
multimedia file icon includes a display 110 and a processor 115.
The processor 115 includes a multimedia file identification module
120, a quality grade classification module 130, and an icon
displaying module 140. The display 110 is used to present a user
interface, such as, a file folder window of the electronic device,
or an operation screen of playing software installed in the
electronic device for playing the multimedia files. The processor
115 is used to process the multimedia file icon. The function of
the various modules of the processor 115 is described below in
greater detail.
[0028] In the displaying apparatus 100 for the multimedia file
icon, the multimedia file identification module 120 is coupled to
the quality grade classification module 130 and icon displaying
module 140, and may also be coupled to a storage device (not shown)
that stores multiple files to determine whether the files in the
storage device are multimedia files. In one embodiment, the storage
device is, for example, the own hard disk of the electronic device.
In an alternative embodiment, the storage device may be storage
medium such as an optical disk or digital video disk. The
multimedia file identification module 120 is coupled to the optical
disk or digital video disk through an optical disk driver of the
electronic device to thereby determine whether the files stored on
the disk are multimedia files.
[0029] The quality grade classification module 130 determines the
quality grade of the multimedia files according to different
multimedia file types. The icon displaying module 140 coupled with
the quality grade classification module 130 adjusts the icons of
the multimedia files according to their file quality grade and
presents the adjusted icons on the user interface.
[0030] Operation of the display apparatus 100 of the multimedia
file icon allows the user to view the multimedia file icon
corresponding to the file quality grade on the user interface
presented on the display 110. As such, files that meet the quality
requirement can be readily chosen from a wide variety of multimedia
files. The operation sequence of the displaying apparatus 100 for
the multimedia file icon is described in greater detail in the
embodiments below.
[0031] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for displaying an icon of
a multimedia file according to one embodiment of the present
invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a file is initially provided
to the displaying apparatus 100 for the multimedia file icon at
step 210. In the present embodiment, step 210 may be implemented,
for example, by providing a file stored in the storage device to
the displaying apparatus 100 for the multimedia file icon. The
storage device is coupled to the multimedia file identification
module 120.
[0032] Next, the multimedia file classification module 120
determines whether the provided file is a multimedia file at step
220. If it is not a multimedia file, at step 230, the icon
displaying module 140 directly displays the icon of the file on the
user interface which is to be presented on the display 110.
[0033] However, if the multimedia file identification module 120
determines the file is a multimedia file, the quality grade
classification module 130 analyzes the file, at the next step, to
initialize a determination of the file quality grade. In
determining the file quality grade, the quality grade
classification module 130 first identifies the file type of the
multimedia file at step 240. In the present embodiment, the
multimedia file type includes an audio file, a video file, or an
image file. In an alternative embodiment, the multimedia file type
further includes an audio track recorded on an optical disk or a
digital video disk.
[0034] Next, at step 250, the quality grade classification module
130 obtains a file information relative to the multimedia file
type. For example, when the multimedia file type is an audio file
or video file, the quality grade classification module 130 analyzes
the multimedia file to obtain its bitrate which is to be used as
its file information. When the multimedia file type is an image
file, the quality grade classification module 130 determines the
pixel of the image file as its file information. In other words,
the file information obtained by the quality grade classification
module 130 varies with the different types of the multimedia
files.
[0035] After obtaining the file information of the multimedia file,
at step 260, the quality grade classification module 130 compares
the file information to at least one quality classification
threshold to determine the file quality grade corresponding to the
file information. In the present embodiment, the quality
classification threshold also varies with the different types of
the multimedia files. The quality grade classification module 130
compares the quality classification threshold corresponding to the
multimedia file type to the file information.
[0036] Finally, at step 270, the icon displaying module 140 adjusts
the icon according to the file quality grade determined by the
quality grade classification module 130 and displays the adjusted
icon on the user interface which is presented by the display 110,
thus allowing the user to view the content of the user interface.
The icon displaying module 140 adjusts the resolution of the icon
according to the file quality grade. In other words, the higher
quality grade the multimedia file has, the higher resolution the
icon has. The multimedia files having a lower quality grade
correspond to icons having a lower resolution.
[0037] In the above embodiment, after the quality grade
classification module 130 determines the file quality grade of the
multimedia file, the icon displaying module 140 displays the icon
corresponding to the file quality grade on the user interface.
Therefore, when viewing the user interface presented on the display
110, the user can readily distinguish the quality of the audio
files, video files or image files from the icons, thereby enhancing
the efficiency of choosing or opening the multimedia file.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for displaying an icon of
a multimedia file according to another embodiment of the present
invention. Determining the file quality grade by the quality grade
classification module 130 and adjusting the icon by the icon
displaying module 140 according to the file quality grade are
described in greater detail in this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1
and FIG. 3, steps 310 to 340 of FIG. 3 are the same as or similar
to steps 210 to 240 of FIG. 2, which all involve determining, upon
a file being provided, whether the file is a multimedia file, and
directly displaying the file icon if the file is not a multimedia
file and identifying the multimedia file type if the file is a
multimedia file. Therefore, these steps are not repeated
herein.
[0039] In the present embodiment, assuming after determining the
file to be a multimedia file, the quality grade classification
module 130 proceeds to determine that the multimedia file type is
an audio file (e.g., a MP3 file). At step 350, the quality grade
classification module 130 then obtains the file information
corresponding to the multimedia file type, i.e., the bitrate of the
audio file. Specifically, the international standards organization
(ISO) defines different standards for various multimedia files and,
therefore, the quality grade classification module 130 may analyze
the multimedia file according to the ISO standard to thereby obtain
the bitrate information.
[0040] For ease of illustration, it is assumed that a first quality
classification threshold and a second quality classification
threshold are preset for the audio file type to divide all audio
files into three main classifications, i.e., a high file quality
grade, a medium file quality grade, and a low file quality grade.
Therefore, at step 360, the quality grade classification module 130
compares the bitrate of the audio file to the first quality
classification threshold and the second quality classification
threshold to determine the file quality grade of the audio
file.
[0041] For example, if the first quality classification threshold
and the second quality classification threshold are 192 Kbps and 96
Kbps, respectively, an MP3 file with a bitrate higher than 192 Kbps
will be considered as having a high file quality grade and
therefore the icon displaying module 140 will display a high
resolution icon on the user interface at step 370. However, if an
MP3 file has a bitrate between 192 Kbps and 96 Kbps, the MP3 file
will be considered as having a medium file quality grade and
therefore the icon displaying module 140 will display a medium
resolution icon on the user interface at step 380. In other words,
the higher the MP3 file quality is, the higher the resolution of
the icon correspondingly displayed on the user interface is. As
such, when viewing the user interface presented on the display 110,
the user can readily determine the MP3 file quality based on
whether the icon is clear or not.
[0042] It should be noted, however, that the first quality
classification threshold and the second threshold are only examples
for the purpose of description only. In other words, the number of
the quality classification thresholds and the value of each quality
classification threshold can be defined based on the user needs,
habits and the multimedia file types and should not be limited to
any particular embodiments described herein.
[0043] It should also be noted that the displaying method for the
multimedia file icon can be carried out in any electronic devices
equipped with a processor. To carry out the displaying method for
the multimedia file icon of the above embodiment in an electronic
device, a program consisting of multiple program codes for
implementing the above-illustrated displaying method is firstly
compiled. A computer readable storage medium (e.g., an optical
disk, a magnetic disk or a removable hard disk) is used to store
the program. The program is loaded to the electronic device, and
the displaying method can thus be implemented in the electronic
device.
[0044] In summary, in the method and apparatus for displaying a
multimedia file icon, and a storage medium thereof, a file quality
grade is determined according to a file information relative to a
multimedia file and a resolution of the file icon is processed
according to the file quality grade. Therefore, the user can
quickly determine the file quality grade based on whether the icon
is clear or not. As such, not only the multimedia file icon can be
displayed in a greater diversity of manners, but the present
invention also provides a more intuitive manner of displaying the
file quality grade of the multimedia file, thereby facilitating the
user choosing or opening the multimedia file.
[0045] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *